Music – The Berlin Spectatorhttps://berlinspectator.com
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3232159402125Pop Music: The Overdue Return of AORhttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/05/31/pop-music-the-overdue-return-of-aor-1/
Sun, 31 May 2020 10:18:00 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=14180Some forty years ago, between 1975 and 1982, the best examples of Adult-Oriented Rock tunes were recorded. Now AOR quality tunes are back, thanks to a few players.]]>

Some forty years ago, between 1975 and 1982, the best examples of Adult-Oriented Rock tunes were recorded. Now AOR quality tunes are back, thanks to a group called Young Gun Silver Fox.

‘Canyons’ was just released, the third album by a duet called Young Gun Silver Fox, consisting of the American multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee and the British vocalist Andy Platts. They stand out.

Stimulating Hormones

Shawn Lee, who is also known as a video game producer, is the mastermind of the project. Mama’s Gun was the name of Platt’s former band in which he was the very convincing lead singer. These two men are doing the world a big favor: Young Gun Silver Fox is bringing back the quality of the 1970s to an area in which it is badly needed, namely Pop music.

‘Love Guarantee’, recorded in 2018, follows the AOR tradition.

‘Canyons’ and their first two albums, ‘West End Coast’ and ‘AM Waves’, are offering exactly what it says in their titles: West coast sound songs like the ones played on AM radio waves in 1978, the kind of music that would spread warmth, stimulate hormones and have an uplifting effect in every way imaginable.

‘All this Love’ is from Young Gun Silver Fox’ new album ‘Canyons’.

Modern Day AOR Heroes

Their earlier tunes, such as ‘Love Guarantee’ and the new ones, including ‘Kids’ could have been recorded in Los Angeles, which some of them actually were, forty years ago. Young Gun Andy Platts and Silver Fox Shawn Lee were going to tour The Netherlands in March of 2020 when Corona suddenly turned everything to sh*t.

Ed Motta is one of today’s AOR heroes.

There are a few other modern day AOR heroes on this planet. One of them is the Brazilian vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record collector Ed Motta. He also delivers Musica Popular Brasileira and Jazz-Funk, but these are related genres that go very well together. Ed Motta’s 2013 album was even entitled ‘AOR’.

Kenny Loggins’ most brilliant AOR tune was ‘This Is It’.

Different Direction

Stephen Bishop, The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, Hall & Oates, 10cc, Toto, Steely Dan, The Eagles, Eric Tagg, Airplay, Boz Scaggs, Bill Champlin and so many other artists delivered the original AOR sound forty years ago. Most of those tunes were excellent compositions that included stunning singing jobs and expensive arrangements involving huge string or horn sections, or both.

David Foster’s ‘In the Stone’ became one of Earth, Wind and Fire’s Many hits. This is the version he recorded himself, with Bill Champlin.

Back then, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when music was still music, when good was still good and bad was good too, turning on the radio did not mean the person who did had to expect to be drowned in garbage sounds like today. Sure, there was some of that too, but it took a very different direction.

‘Kids’ is yet another great AOR tune by Young Gun Silver Fox tune.

Related Genres

The AOR heroes of those times would not have sounded the way they did if it hadn’t been for the creators of the stunning Soul and Funk tunes of those times, since some of their typical elements and the entire approach ended up in AOR recordings. All of those were, and still are, related genres. Acts like The Average White Band even played all of it. Young Gun Silver Fox are bringing some of the fascination back today.

One of the most stunning Young Gun Silver Fox songs is ‘Long Way Back’.

Their three albums can be purchased and downloaded at the usual online stores. The same applies to the songs recorded by the pioneers, back in the days.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>14180Top 15: The Most Beautiful Brazilian Tunes Everhttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/04/12/top-15-the-most-beautiful-brazilian-tunes-ever-2/
Sun, 12 Apr 2020 08:11:48 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=18626Bossa Nova and Samba recorded in the 1970s are among the most beautiful sounds ever created on this planet. In Brazil, folklore songs and modern tunes based on their tradition spread unlimited waves of warmth, beauty and energy.]]>

Bossa Nova and Samba recorded in the 1970s are among the most beautiful sounds ever created on this planet. In Brazil, folklore songs and modern tunes based on their tradition spread unlimited waves of warmth, beauty and energy.

These are stunning examples of breathtaking Brazilian music for those who intend to dive into it for the first time, and for connaisseurs (French spelling) who want to be reminded of breathtaking tunes. Sambaresque compositions are included, and even Samba-Funk, but also classic ballads, incredible voices and sentimental tunes the beauty of which just cannot be put into words.

AIRTO MOREIRA ‘The Happy People’

Airto Moreira, a legendary percussionist, drummer and composer, is 78 years old by now. He recorded many of his albums with his wife Flora Purim, a Jazz and Fusion singer who even worked with Return to Forever. Moreira began his career as a teenager. Early on, he played with Hermeto Pascoal (see below). In the late 1960s, he moved to the United States. His Brazilian heritage never left his music. ‘The Happy People’ is a great, uplifting Samba tune with a Contemporary Jazz influence.

SERGIO MENDES ‘Sambadouro’

Sergio Mendes, a good friend of Antonio Carlos Jobim known as the ‘father of Bossa Nova’, already had a good career when he hit the United States in the mid-1960s. With his first group he founded up north, Brasil 66, which was later converted to Brasil 77 and Brasil 88, he recorded Beatles covers with a Brazilian twist, but also classics such as Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada”. Sergio Mendes basically brought the beauty of Brazil to the United States and recorded a million great albums. This is ‘Sambadouro’ from his 1992 recording ‘Brasileiro’.

ELIANE ELIAS ‘Milton Nascimento Medley’

Eliane Elias from São Paulo turned 60 some four weeks ago. She is a genius pianist, singer, composer, arranger and band leader. When she plays Bossa tunes on the concert grand, audiences will not believe their ears or eyes. Her instrumental performance is so convincing she does not really need the trio she tours with, but her fellow quartet members (it is a quartet when we count her) are brilliant as well. This medley of compositions of the great Milton Nascimento was recorded in 1992. It includes ‘Ponta de Areia’. In this case, the tune was sung by Eliane Elias’ daugter Amanda Brecker when she was still a child. The beauty of that performance is said to have driven Milton Nascimento to tears.

EDU LUKE ‘Cosmonauta’

Those who were looking for the perfect Brazilian Jazz-Funk tune don’t have to look any further. You just found it. Edu Luke from São Paulo was born into a family of musicians. At first, he chose an opposition path by playing Heavy Metal. Then he moved towards Jazz and Funk. ‘Cosmonauta’ is a very energetic, uplifting and well-arranged Brazilian Jazz-Funk tune.

GILBERTO GIL ‘Flora’

Gilberto Gil is one of the most famous Brazilians. He is known as a musician with a very wide range of styles, and as a politician. From 2003 to 2008, he was Brazil’s Minister of Culture. But even before he took over that position, he was politically active in his state of Bahia. Gilberto Gil has recorded as many as 54 albums, including live recordings, since 1967. This is the Bossa Nova tune ‘Flora’ from his 1981 album ‘Luar’.

ASTRUD GILBERTO ‘Meu Piao’

Astrud Gilberto, who is 80 years old today, is one of those who exported the beauty of Brazilian sounds to the world. Her version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Girl from Ipanema’ literally exploded. The Brazilian-German vocalist was married to the late João Gilberto for a while, yet another Bossa Nova hero. Because her big hits are just too famous, we chose ‘Meu Piao’, a tune with interesting arrangements.

OSCAR CASTRO-NEVES ‘Rio Dawning’

The late Oscar Castro-Neves was one of the greatest Bossa Nova guitarists of all time. He recorded solo albums and played with countless fellow artists including Sergio Mendes, Eliane Elias, Stan Getz, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand. His trademark Bossa sound was, and still is, unmistakable. This is ‘Rio Dawning’ from his own album ‘Oscar!’, one of the most beautiful tunes ever recorded on this planet. Oscar Castro-Neves died in 2013 at age 73.

MARCOS VALLE ‘Samba de Verão’

Marcos Valle, who is 76 years old today, had classmates who became famous musicians, just like him, namely Edu Lobo and Dori Caymmi (see below). Over the past five decades, he has written, arranged, produced, played and sung countless tunes in different styles, including Bossa Nova, Samba, Musica Popular Brasileira, Jazz and Funk. Marcos Valle mesmerizes his audiences around the world as a pianist too. This is an interesting version of one of his most famous compositions, ‘Samba de Verão’. A good horn section is included.

GONZAGUINHA ‘Desenredo’

Gonzaguinha was a brilliant Brazilian singer and composer from Rio de Janeiro who delivered hits and stunning performances. Fellow artists interpreted many of his tunes and still do. He was introduced to the international Contemporary Jazz community by guitarist Lee Ritenour who included Gonzaguinha’s stunning tune ‘É’ on one of his 1990s albums. In 1991, Gonzaguinha died in a car crash when he was on his way to a gig. ‘Desenredo’, the song above, was recorded in 1979.

DIPLOMATAS DO SAMBA ‘A Rua Onde Ela Mora’

The author of these lines believes the Diplomatas do Samba were probably part of a Samba school of the same name that was founded in late 1958 as Prova de Fogo. This sophosticated Samba tune, ‘A Rua Onde Ela Mora’, sounds like it was recorded in the early 1970s.

DORI CAYMMI ‘Ogum É Que Sabe’

Dori Caymmi, the son of the late Dorival Caymmi, is an extremely gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger from Rio de Janeiro. He worked with absolutely everyone in Brazil and some in the United States. But his greatest accomplishment is that he came up with some of the most beautiful sounds ever. His stunning music appeared in motion pictures as well, for instance the final scene of ‘Havana’ in which Robert Redford is looking towards Cuba from Key West, thinking of his big love portrayed by Lena Olin. It was Dave Grusin who picked the piece for this movie. Dori Caymmi even turned the ‘James Bond Theme’ into a romantic piece on one of his more recent albums. The wonderful tune above, ‘Ogum É Que Sabe’, has a stunning outro.

BOSSACUCANOVA ‘Tô Voltando’

Bossacucanova is the youngest band gathered here. One of their strengths is to revive classic Bossa, Samba and Musica Popular Brasileira tunes. This is a free sample. ‘Tô Voltando’ was recorded by Simone, Sergio Mendes and others some five decades ago. Bossacucanova gave it some new spark plugs and an oil change.

JOÃO DONATO ‘Malandro’

When João Donato recorded his album ‘A Bad Donato’ in 1969, he was already known for his energetic, sambaresque and almost funky approach to Brazilian sounds, even though Funk had not even been invented at the time. His signature sound is unmistakable. João Donato is 83 years old today and still active.

BANDA BLACK RIO ‘Misterios de Raça’

Bands put together by record labels are often not too convincing. The exact opposite is the case with Banda Black Rio. WEA basically wanted a Brazilian version of Earth, Wind & Fire that would combine Samba and Funk. Oberdan Magalhães, Claudio Stevenson and other did. But this was more than a challenge. These guys put both their know-how and their heart into it. This tune, ‘Misterios de Raça’, includes stunning horn arrangements towards its end. Banda Black Rio came up with the most brilliant Samba-Funk ever right from the start.

HERMETO PASCOAL ‘E Nem Dá Pra Dizer’

Just like João Donato, Hermeto Pascoal ist 83 years old and a living legend who has composed and performed music of a wide range of styles using countless partially crazy instruments. This stunning tune, ‘E Nem Dá Pra Dizer’, is one of the most beautiful compositions Hermeto Pascoal has written and recorded during his long career.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>18626The ‘Aja’ Casehttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/29/the-aja-case-3/
Sun, 29 Mar 2020 09:26:00 +0000http://berlinspectator.com/?p=397In 1977, the world was crazy, just like today. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act came to life. Elvis Presley died. 'Star Wars' became a big hit at the box office. In a South Africa governed by a racist regime, the anti-Apartheid activist Stephen Biko was murdered in police custody. And a milestone album was released.]]>

In 1977, the world was crazy, just like today. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act came to life. Elvis Presley died. ‘Star Wars’ became a big hit at the box office. In a South Africa governed by a racist regime, the anti-Apartheid activist Stephen Biko was murdered in police custody. And a milestone album was released.

A big event in 1977 would have a lasting effect on music: On September 23rd of that year, a band called Steely Dan released an album entitled ‘Aja’. Not only did that album turn out to be very special. The men behind it, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, also got awards.

George Benson and Stevie Wonder Win

Those included the Grammy for the “Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical”. Sure, it should have become “Record of the Year”. The problem was that quality still counted back then, and therefore lots of quality albums were released, meaning ‘Aja’ was not the only one.

The late Walter Becker (left) and Donald Fagen, back in the days. Photo by Steely Dan

In 1977, George Benson’s stunning ‘The Masquerade’, produced by none other than Tommy LiPuma, became “Record of the Year”. Yet another killer recording of significance, ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ by Stevie Wonder, was “Album of the Year”.

While one of the songs on ‘Aja’ could and should have become “Song of the Year”, that prize was given to Bruce Johnston. He composed ‘I Write the Songs’, which became a big hit for Barry Manilow. Sure, that one is a cheesy song, but it was well composed and well sung, even from a ‘Real Music’ perspective.

The ‘Aja’ Genre

As late as 2003, ‘Aja’ became part of the Grammy Hall of Fame. ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine ranked the album number 145 in its “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. Forget that one. They should have put it into the top 20 of that list.

So, for decades, there has been all of this fuss around Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’. Why? Because this album was innovative. It gave people something they had not heard before, in several ways. Even today it is pretty hard to put ‘Aja’ into any genre drawer. Pop Jazz hits it pretty well. So does Jazz-Rock, since it contains elements of that kind. But where is the Blues aspect? The best solution would be to give ‘Aja’ its own genre. The ‘Aja’ Genre.

About the album’s lyrics, the ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine’s critic Michael Duffy accurately says they “remain as pleasantly obtuse and cynical as ever”. Good.

“‘Aja’ marked the arrival of the ultimate Steely Dan posterity concept. Co-founders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen ensconced in L.A. and New York studios with their top shelf pick of the finest musicians and engineers that money could buy”, says music journalist A. Scott Galloway in Los Angeles, author of over 300 CD liner note essays and editor of the coffee table book ‘Down the Rhodes: The Fender Rhodes Story’.

The Instrumental that Should Have Made It

“The result found their songs, rich with metaphor, mood, ambiguity and infinitely intriguing characters, becoming veritable movies of the mind for listeners, aural trips they could take for the rest of their lives and still discover fresh nuances from the lyrics, tracks, and instrumental solos to the gritty lead singing of Donald Fagen”, Galloway states.

Let’s get into the instrumental stuff. So, there is not a single instrumental tune on ‘Aja’, right? Wrong. At least there should have been one entitled ‘Stand by the Seawall’. Why was it removed at the last moment? We might never know. This tune is brilliant. It features some wonderful, jazzy guitar licks by Walter Becker and more masterful playing by drummer Steve Gadd. ‘Stand by the Seawall’ is an excellent composition too.

Genius Steve Gadd definitely pulled it off on ‘Aja’.

Talking about Steve Gadd: This guy, who has played with almost every ‘Real Music’ musician on the face of the Earth, contributed a lot to this one. On ‘Aja’, Gadd showed that one and the same drummer can cover the entire spectrum on one and the same album, from jazzy parts to Pop, and from Jazz-Rock to brilliant off-beats, in a brilliant way, if his name is Steve Gadd.

‘Genius’ is the Answer

The ‘Aja’ drum fills, his playing towards the end of the album’s title track, is famous in ‘Real Music’ circles. Just ask anyone about those fills and you will get a one-hour-monologue about Steve Gadd, the album, the guys and what not.

In 1977, many drummers were listening to the ‘Aja’ drum fills over and over again. And all of them were asking themselves one and the same question: “How the f*ck did that son of a b*tch do that sh*t?” In order to answer that question, one single word will suffice: genius.

The ‘Newsweek’ magazine does not write about albums that much, especially when the recording in question is 40 years old. In the case of ‘Aja’, they made a noteworthy exception. In that piece of theirs, they are quoting musicians who were part of the recording of ‘Aja’.

‘Being Replaced is Not Personal‘

One of them is Jay Graydon, a gifted composer who used to run a band called Airplay with David Foster. Graydon was the seventh guitarist Steely Dan tried for the tune ‘Peg’, in connection with which the band had become “obsessive”, ‘Newsweek’ writes. And he was the one they finally chose.

“If anybody takes [being replaced] personally, they’re an idiot”, Graydon told that news magazine. “You’re not gonna make a hundred percent of people happy. I got dumped on a solo on a Boz Scaggs album because the producer could get Carlos Santana.”

Today, everyone in the shrinking ‘Real Music’ community and everyone in the music biz who actually knows about music, adores ‘Aja’. This even includes David Crosby.

Collector’s Gold

The Brazilian vocalist, composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ed Motta is one of those ‘Aja’ people too. He recently told ‘The Vinyl Factory’, Steely Dan was his mania. “I love everything they produce. For me they are the top of the hill.” Motta owns more than 30,000 vinyl records. Which one is his favourite? ‘Aja’.

David Lieberberg, a German promoter who has put everyone on stage, from AC/DC to Frank Zappa, says ‘Aja’ was “the ultimate album in the field of intelligent Jazz-Rock” and “ear candy of the best kind”.

The great Al Di Meola obvioulsy loves ‘Aja’. He recorded a very interesting ‘Aja’ cover, which placed part of the drum fills at the beginning of the tune. In that cover, Di Meola included brilliant Flamenco parts. The genius guitarist does not cover tunes every day. He hardly ever does. And the one tune he did cover had to be ‘Aja’, the title track.

Millions of Covers

Oh yes, there are millions of brilliant ‘Aja’ covers. Robben Ford did ‘Peg’, Norman Connors recorded his version of ‘Black Cow’ decades ago. The Perri Sisters sang a soulful version of ‘The Caves of Altamira’. The original of the latter was actually part of Steely Dan’s 1976 album ‘The Royal Scam’, and therefore not on ‘Aja’, but only some readers will notice.

There are countless additional covers of ‘Aja’ tunes. The Woody Herman Band would not only do ‘Aja’, the title track, but the entire bloody album. The last great cover mentioned here would be ‘Black Cow’ by the Reuben Fowler Big Band, with the Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart on main vocals and stunning backing singers.

‘Aja’? Very influential. A phenomenon. People say that “without ‘Aja’, music as we know it today would be very different today”. Sure.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>397Al Jarreau: The Most Giftedhttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/09/al-jarreau-the-most-gifted-1/
https://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/09/al-jarreau-the-most-gifted-1/#commentsMon, 09 Mar 2020 11:36:00 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=15359One of the most brilliant and recognizable Jazz and Pop vocalists of all time, Al Jarreau, would have turned 80 on March 12th, 2020, had he not died three years ago, after a life of singing, recording and touring. I knew him.]]>

One of the most brilliant and recognizable Jazz and Pop vocalists of all time, Al Jarreau, would have turned 80 on March 12th, 2020, had he not died three years ago, after a life of singing, recording and touring. I knew him.

The singing psychologist is just one of a million labels which could have been put on the brilliant Al Jarreau. At Ripon College in Wisconsin he got his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1962. But there was something he was even more interested in. Singing. During his college days, he sang with the band The Indigos. Later, he joined a young pianist’s trio as a singer. The bandleader on the keys was the late George Duke.

Live at ‘Onkel Pö’

Al quickly took a big decision. He was going to forget psychology and opt for a singing career. It did not take long until he appeared on television a lot. Also, he sang in comedy theaters, in between performances by John Belushi and other greats. As the son of a Seventh Day Adventist minister and a church organist, he was religious and curious at the same time. So he tried religious organizations and Scientology, but only for a short time. This little experiment gave him trouble in Europe, when he was a superstar decades later, since Scientology is being seen as a religion in the U.S., but as a dangerous cult on the “old continent”.

The singing genius Al Jarreau, who got a total of seven Grammy Awards during his career, was finally discovered by Warner Bros. Records in 1975, when he was already 35 years old. His first album “We Got By”, released in 1975, immediately became one of the most important recordings in the Jazz and Soul worlds. Al’s approach, voice and energy got him a huge fan community. They cheered for him in New York and Atlanta, they gave him never ending ovations in London and Manchester. At the “Onkel Pö” venue in Hamburg, he had to perform several nights in a row in order to satisfy every fan in the northern German city.

‘L is for Lover’ in Huge Halls

After 1975, Al Jarreau never really stopped touring and recording. The albums “Glow”, “All Fly Home”, “This Time” and “Breakin’ Away” were all more than brilliant. He was now a Soul, Jazz and Pop singer. He was a singer. Period.

It was in the 1980s, when he became a huge Pop star. Several tunes from his “Jarreau” album, especially the song “Mornin'” got to be aired by radio stations all over America, Europe and parts of Asia. The record “L is for Lover”, released in 1986, was actually composed to sound more like a Pop album than anything else. That record might have disgruntled quite a few Jazz and Soul purists within his fan community, including me, for a while, but it got him so many other fans from within the much larger Pop world. The concerts during the “L is for Lover” tour were huge. They took place in sports arenas and comparable venues.

Tune for Susan

When Al Jarreau hit Bulgarian soil for the first time, in 2005, for a concert I organized for my former partners at Jazz FM Radio, founded by Vassil Dimitrov, he had been touring for thirty years, with little interruption. I had met him before, in Germany, some twenty years earlier, but around the Sofia gig there was more time for some conversations. Al turned out to be the nicest guy on Earth. He loved talking about his early days, how he hit stages with George Duke and about his albums. When I told him I liked the song “Bright’N’Sunny Babe” from the “All Fly Home” album, he explained how he wrote it for his wife Susan.

A year later, he came to Sofia again, for another gig we organized. This time he had joined the fellow legend George Benson on a tour, since the two had recorded the album “Givin’ It Up” together. More conversations followed. Another year later, I met him yet again, in Bremen, Germany and spoke to him more. He was always very open-minded, funny and interested.

Lucky Strike in Hamburg

His health problems were obvious. Maybe not so much on stage, but definitely backstage. Ten years ago, Al Jarreau could hardly stand, on stage or basically anywhere, due to a spine condition. He had to be pulled up from any chair. That was one reason why he did not attend too many after-show parties anymore. After his gigs, he would rather sit in his hotel room, have a glass of red wine and smoke a cigarette. When he asked me for a smoke in Bremen, I gave him a Lucky Strike. After trying it, he got dizzy and had to sit down immediately.

Al Jarreau’s concerts were perfect every single time. This applied to the Sofia gigs too. At the National Palace of culture, the fans cheered. The Bulgarian painter Pancho Malezanov gave him a funky piece of art he had painted just for him. We probably could have filled hall no. 1 at the National Palace of Culture with him again, a few years later, but we stopped doing gigs.

‘No Bigger Heart and Soul’

Al’s gigs were perfect because of his gift and excellent showmanship, but also because of the great people around him. Larry Williams, a genius multi-instrumentalist who was Al’s keyboarder, saxophone player and musical director for a long time, said Al was “an incredible light to the world”. In a message on Facebook, Larry wrote this on the day of Al Jarreau’s death in 2017: “I’ve had the great pleasure to play, compose and arrange music and travel the world with my friend and musical partner Al Jarreau, on and off, for 39 years. This morning at 5:30 a.m., he passed away peacefully. (…) I am so very grateful to have been a part of his life and music. No one I’ve every met had a bigger heart and soul.”

Al Jarreau will live on in his music and our memories.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>https://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/09/al-jarreau-the-most-gifted-1/feed/115359Emika: Abstract Sounds from a Brandenburg Foresthttps://berlinspectator.com/2020/02/12/emika-abstract-sounds-from-a-brandenburg-forest/
Wed, 12 Feb 2020 07:01:52 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=15181In Brandenburg province, just outside Berlin, the British-Czech expatriate and sound artist Emika just finished her latest album 'Klavirni Temna'. It is a piano solo project scheduled to be released on February 14th, 2020.]]>

In Brandenburg province, just outside Berlin, the British-Czech expatriate and sound artist Emika just finished her latest album ‘Klavirni Temna’. It is a piano solo project scheduled to be released on February 14th, 2020.

She has been making big changes. In recent years, after a decade of work, Emika has made moves to strip back her life and music. Having left Ninja Tune and begun releasing music on her own label, she is also making steps to live off-grid in an ‘earth-ship’ eco-home and simultaneously build a sustainable model for how her music is made and released. These ambitious changes mark a step change in her music, audible in the softening of her sonic and aesthetic palette on her recent album ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’, a shift from ice-queen in the club to a much more organic sound and mode of production.

Performance at Berlin Planetarium

Following the release of ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’, the European electronic-singer songwriter has a second piano album in the pipeline. It is about to be released. Also she will be performing at Berlin’s ‘Zeiss-Grossplanetarium’, and move on to other planetariums afterwards. These projects represent a maturation in her career. “I gave up wearing make up and moved to the forest, I’ve basically gone back to who I was when I was 14,” she says. “I’ve been going through a transitional process, from leaving Ninja Tune to becoming a mum. Previously I was just running with it, things were working by chance, but I needed to take stock and be honest about what I’m trying to say. This feels like the beginning of what I’ll be doing for the next ten years. My first ten years were the end of a past life cycle – now I’m starting where I always wanted to be… it feels like a rebirth.”

Emika is now a piano solo artist. Photo by Emika

That new album Emika worked on from her new home in Brandenburg, just outside Berlin, is entitled ‘Klavirni Temna’. This obviously means ‘Piano Theme’. At the same time, her performances at Berlin’s ‘Zeiss-Grossplanetarium’ is connected to her recent album ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ which contains, her voice, her piano and “hypnotizing beats”, according to critics. Tickets for Emika’s planetarium performances on February 28th and 29th, 2020 are available here.

From ‘Post Dubstep’ to Piano Solo

Her renewed confidence in her musical and personal identity prompted her to sit down again at the piano, five years after ‘Klavírní’, one of the first records she released on Emika Records. The piano’s capacity for simple beauty is what Emika returns to, much like Sakamoto’s piano albums. It is the first instrument she learned, and she is still very much in love with it as an instrument. “I’ve taught children and the elderly to play piano,” she says. “It doesn’t take any intellect to experience and enjoy it. It can be a whole orchestra or you can just play one note for an hour. You don’t have to think about it.”

Emika has released six albums so far, including two critically acclaimed ‘post-dubstep’ albums on the Ninja Tune label, although she once compared her music to blueberries rather than give it a genre tag. Those foundational low-end synth-pop albums now offer a strong basis on which to build upwards and outwards, so that Emika can establish herself in new self-sustaining territories and areas of practice, amplifying her creative vision through new collaborations, new projects and recordings.

‘Off-Grid’ Home in Brandenburg

Emika is now 100% independent, and this independence from the music ‘industry’ is reflected in her lifestyle. She has recently moved to the forest in Brandenburg and has plans to build an off-grid ‘earth-ship’ home. A studio insulated with wood sourced from the nearby forest is already in business, while she is trying to work out how much solar energy it take to power a synth.

Born in the U.K., the artist of Czech heritage engaged with the Bristol dubstep scene as a teenager. She then moved to the Berlin/Brandenburg area. Motherhood – the creation of a new life – has proven a powerful creative prompt for in the past two years, finding herself composing on her computer with one arm while holding her daughter in the other.

Driven by Gut Feelings

A classically trained pianist and sound designer, Emika has often spoken about her love for abstract sounds, often sourced from the environment around her. In 2010 she recorded samples of the interior acoustic spaces of the Berghain, from huge warehouse echoes to the squeak of sex swing, which were then reworked by the Ostgut Ton roster. Collaborations and outside inspirations have always been key to Emika’s work, from her last symphony with acclaimed soprano Michaela Srumova, to a recent remix of her track ‘Eternity by Bristol’.

Compared in the past to Thom Yorke, Max Richter, FKA Twigs, Massive Attack, Emika now steps out as her own artist, driven by gut feelings rather than outside inspirations. Pop has always been a multidisciplinary medium, and Emika’s transitions from the club into the concert hall, gallery and the forest make her a true pop star, engaging with contemporary culture and the contemporary ecological crisis.

By the way: The publication you are reading, The Berlin Spectator, was established in January of 2019. We have worked a whole lot, as you can see. But there has hardly been any income. This is something we urgently need to change. Would you consider contributing? We would be very thankful. Our donations page can be found here.

]]>15181Georg Leitner: The Austrian Who Books Everyonehttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/11/12/georg-leitner-the-austrian-who-books-everyone-2/
Tue, 12 Nov 2019 14:00:21 +0000http://berlinspectator.com/?p=125Whoever wants to book big name Soul and Funk bands in Europe, will need to talk to Georg Leitner, in most cases. The concert agent from Vienna and his helpers are behind many the coolest gigs. In 1977, a teenager from Vienna started organizing concerts for the late British Blues guru Alexis Korner and some […]]]>

Whoever wants to book big name Soul and Funk bands in Europe, will need to talk to Georg Leitner, in most cases. The concert agent from Vienna and his helpers are behind many the coolest gigs.

In 1977, a teenager from Vienna started organizing concerts for the late British Blues guru Alexis Korner and some Austrian acts. At that point Georg Leitner did not know he would still be doing that same job four decades later, but with a lot more artists. Today, Leitner is ‘Mr. Quality Music’. Countless Soul, R&B, Jazz and World Music artists rely on him and his booking agency Georg Leitner Productions (GLP).

Two Clones Needed

He is the guy who sends bands all over the place. And he needs to make sure his artists are happy when they tour Europe and perform on stage. But it does not end there. What happens behind the stage is even more important, because happy artists will deliver good gigs. That is the ground rule.

Georg Leitner is 59 years old, married and a father of two. He does not need to be at every gig he organizes anymore. A task of this kind would force him to clone himself twice, since Leitner and his team book up to 1000 concerts per year, or three per day. Imanuel Marcus caught him between two gigs.

The Berlin Spectator: More than 200 legendary artists and bands are assembled in one place, which is the roster of your booking agency GLP. They include absolutely everyone: Angie Stone, Al McKay, Chaka Khan, Gloria Gaynor, Grace Jones, Imagination, The Real Thing, the Isley Brothers, Kool & The Gang, Christopher Cross, Roger Hodgson, Roy Ayers and many more. It’s like the phone book of Los Angeles. How come you book all of the brilliant ones?

Georg Leitner: In the early 1980-s, I was lucky enough to become James Brown’s booking agent for Europe. His manager Jack Bart, who also was my mentor, made this possible. Because of James Brown, more and more R&B artists like Ray Charles, The Temptation or Kool & The Gang joined GLP. We didn’t only offer booking services to them, but marketing as well.

Georg Leitner (center) mit Nile Rogers (left) and Rober ‘Kool’ Bell

Grace Jones’ Champagne

The Berlin Spectator: Let’s look at your Pop and Rock department for a moment. Foreigner are part of it. So is Bob Geldorf with his Boomtown Rats who don’t really like Mondays, Roger Hodgson, the voice of Supertramp and even Nina Hagen. How is she and what is she up to?

Georg Leitner: We have been working with her since 1996. In those 22 years, she went through different phases while playing Punk, Indian sounds, Big Band jams, even Gospel. Now we are successfully booking her with her program ‘Nina Hagen Rocks to Brecht’. With her, we even sold out the Lyon Opera House. For ten years now, we have been working with Foreigner. In Switzerland, we recorded them with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and a 50-piece choir last year. And we booked their symphonic shows this summer.

The Berlin Spectator: Also you cooperate with all of these Soul and Jazz artists. One of them is the living legend Grace Jones. You toured with her this summer. Is she a real diva? Are those tours challenging?

Georg Leitner: Grace Jones and many other geniuses have needs and wishes. They give 100 percent on stage, and it is our job to make sure everyone respects them, including promoters and transport providers. They are supposed to give 100 percent as well. And yes, we run into difficult situations when the local conditions don’t do them justice. For example, Grace Jones loves ‘Röder Crystal’ champagne. When a local promoter does not provide it, she sees it as a lack of respect. We tell them about the artist’s wishes, in order to make sure the atmosphere behind the stage is good as well.

Diversification in all Genres

The Berlin Spectator: You work with many artists who deliver high quality music, as opposed to many new bands today. Does quality even have a place in today’s music world?

Georg Leitner: There have always been musicians who deliver quality, but also one-hit wonders, and musicians who intend to catch a wave. We mainly concentrate on artists, also younger ones, who have delivered good music for years. Many of those are part of the market even today. For example, we work with ‘!Deladap’ who hit the stages with different cultural elements and electronic sounds while recording those as well, just like Parov Stellar. We are also very active in the Afro Beat genre. One of our agents, Isabelle Messer, is based in Nairobi right now.

The Berlin Spectator: Do you believe the times in which good music was more important than pretty faces or big breasts will return? Or will things be worse?

Georg Leitner: I expect a stronger diversification in all genres, also because the way music is being consumed has changed.

Georg Leitner (left) with al McKay (center) and Gregory Porter

The Berlin Spectator: You tour a lot. You probably meet yourself at airport lounges and you are probably the problem solver in chief, right? Could you give us an example for a typical problem on tour? How did you resolve the issue?

Georg Leitner: We have a great team which includes very experienced tour managers, and we have great people at the GLP office. All of them were trained very well, and they will find solutions to problems such as cancelled flights, lost equipment or instruments, and similar issues. We do this every day. But when I started, decades ago, there were challenges which had to be mastered. One issue hit me when I toured tourist resorts with James Brown in the Mediterranean, such as Kos, Sicily, Ibiza and similar sports. James Brown wanted to fly home after the first gig, because there were no ‘Presidential Suites’ in those tourist hotels. In the evening, my tour manager and I sat down to make plates saying ‘Presidential Suite’. We told the hotels to combine two rooms and tell him “This is the key for the ‘Presidential Suite’.” At each hotel, one of us always rushed upstairs ahead of the travel party, in order to install one of those plates next to the door of James Brown’s room. He was satisfied.

Dream Come True

The Berlin Spectator: Good one! There are more and more tribute bands which contain the word ‘experience’, such as the Earth, Wind & Fire Experience by the Al McKay Allstars. Al McKay of course played with Earth, Wind & Fire during their best times. Now you book the Dire Straits Experience. What kind of act is that?

Georg Leitner: Chris White played with Dire Straits. He can project the Dire Straits feeling into his audiences, because of his first-hand experience. Dire Straits do not exist anymore, but the Dire Straits Experience featuring Christ White is as close as it gets. With them, we sell out mid-sized halls all over the place.

The Berlin Spectator: You have experienced (there it is again!) thousands of concerts, most of which you booked yourself. Which of all of those gigs has fascinated you most?

Georg Leitner: As a 12-year-old, I experienced Led Zeppelin. At that point I started feeling I wanted to contribute to the music scene somehow. By the way: In 2007 there was a Led Zeppelin reunion gig at the O2 in London. Our drummer with Foreigner was Jason Bonham, John Bonham’s son. For contributing Jason Bonham for the Led Zeppelin gig they added Foreigner to that night’s lineup. It was an overwhelming experience to me, since that night my dream sort of came true.

]]>125The Sound of 1979: A Year of Stunning Music with Expensive Arrangementshttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/11/09/forty-years-of-stunning-music-the-ten-best-1979-albums-4/
Sat, 09 Nov 2019 07:45:36 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=1712In the history of Soul, Funk and Jazz, 1979 was a crucial year during which many acts of these genres came up with breathtaking compositions and arrangements. Forty years ago, quality was an important aspect, even in the Pop and Rock universe.]]>

In the history of Soul, Funk and Jazz, 1979 was a crucial year during which many acts of these genres came up with breathtaking compositions and arrangements. Forty years ago, quality was an important aspect, even in the Pop and Rock universe.

In 1979, Iran became an Islamic republic. The Teheran hostage crisis shocked the world, the United Kingdom got a female Prime Minister by the name of Margaret Thatcher, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and reactor number 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania almost blew. Had it happened, the radioactivity spread would have made Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and the entire region uninhabitable for thousands of years.

‘Marathon’ and other Milestones

It didn’t happen. But the music did. In 1979, many AOR, Funk and Fusion artists took quality arrangements to a new level. AOR stands for Adult Contemporary Rock, a kind of sound Toto had started delivering a year earlier. The “Hydra” album, released in 1979, went down in history as one of the best AOR recordings ever.

While groups like Abba or pure Disco acts like Boney M. had considerable success, they were not the ones which made 1979 the year of high quality music. They were just a bunch of people singing songs on stages. They spread excitement within certain target groups, and still do, but others were running the quality department.

Carlos Santana was one of them. His band’s “Marathon” album, released in 1979, was yet another milestone, a few years after “Abraxas” and “Borboletta”. Santana was obviously inspired by the Funk he heard all over the place, but was never a real Funk guy. The way he included some moderate Funk elements on “Marathon” was interesting. A killer album.

A Long Way to the Breakfast Table

There were many releases by superstars. One of them, entitled “Breakfast in America”, hit Europe like a bomb. The British group Supertramp delivered a very special, unconventional album which told its listeners to “Take the Long Way Home”. The high-pitch voice of Roger Hodgson, who is still touring with his own band today, inspired an entire generation.

While the Bee Gees, Blondie, Rod Stewart, The Village People and The Boomtown Rats got hits on the radio all over the place, and while Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” satisfied most of their fans, one guy was getting ready for a stunning solo career. The late Michael Jackson released “Off the Wall” in 1979, his best album.

But this is not about him, Donna Summer, Pink Floyd (yes, “The Wall”, 1979) or The Police, no matter how good or successful they were in 1979, and it is not about Frank Zappa’s “Sheik Yerbouti” either, but about certain artists in the Funk, Soul and Fusion departments who released the most brilliant albums of all time in 1979, the year of quality music. These ten also stand for the many not mentioned here, even though they should be on the list.

Ten of the Best Albums Released in 1979:

RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN ‘Masterjam‘: The instrumentalist members of Rufus delivered something few have presented: perfection. Tony Maiden, Hawk Wolinski, Kevin Murphy and John Robinson, who is still the world’s busiest drummer, sounded so smooth, funky and clean, hardly anyone has reached that level since. But there was more to Rufus: Another band member by the name of Chaka Khan turned out to have the biggest Soul voice since Aretha Franklin. ‘Masterjam’ featured some truly great tunes, including ‘I’m Dancing for Your Love’ in which Chaka was ‘hidden’ in the chorus.

YELLOWJACKETS “Yellowjackets”: This Fusion group’s first album, released in 1979, is still their best. With compositions like “The Hornet” or “Sittin’ in It”, they contributed some of the most breathtaking sounds to a kind of music which still has tens of thousands of enthusiastic followers today. Russel Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, the great Larry Williams, Gary Herbig, Kim Hutchcroft, Bill Reichenbach and Jerry Hey made it happen. The whole thing was produced by the great Tommy LiPuma.

JEAN-LUC PONTY “Live”: The French violin player introduced himself all over the Western world as a member of Frank Zappa’s group Mother’s of Invention. When he started writing and recording solo albums, he became one of the best Fusion artists of all time. In 1979, he released a more quiet studio album entitled “A Taste for Passion”, but also one of the most fascinating live albums ever recorded. Which genius composer and arranger would even build jingles into his pieces? Jean-Luc Ponty. Which artist of this kind tells stories with his music? Yes, him. There are no words. ‘Egocentric Molecules’ is an energetic killer with a great ending.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE “I Am”: The best band in the world did the obvious thing in 1979: It was an activity known as recording the best album of all time. The late Maurice White and his fellow band members and helpers came up with the most funky tunes ever, the most crisp horn parts in the universe, precision, unbelievable voices, beauty and energy. Hell! “In the Stone” became one of their hymns, “Can’t Let Go” one of their best. The same applies to “You and I”. “Boogie Wonderland” was far too commercial, and a huge hit for that reason. And with “After the Love Has Gone”, co-written by David Foster, Bill Champlin and Allee Willis, Earth, Wind & Fire managed to get a lot of radio airplay on Pop radio stations. Nobody comes even close to this kind of mixture between quality and the perfect groove. Made by genius. In case NASA sends another ‘Voyager’ space probe to the final frontier, this album needs to be on board.

GEORGE DUKE “Follow the Rainbow”: Someone was really busy in 1979. The late George Duke, another ex-member of The Mothers of Invention, recorded not one, not two, but three albums that year. And they were three of his best. “A Brazilian Love Affair”, “Master of the Game” and “Follow the Rainbow” are just stunning, all of them. Duke, the master pianist, composer, arranger, vocalist and stage personality delivered extremely funky tunes, Fusion and Jazz-Funk, partially with a strong Latin flavor, and all of it very convincing. On these albums, he cooperated with the best in the “business”. This sample tune, “Festival”, is a good example for what George Duke stood for in his lifetime, and still does today.

PAULINHO DA COSTA “Happy People”: During his long career, which is still ongoing, the Brazilian percussion master Paulinho Da Costa has worked with everyone, including Sergio Mendes and the entire phone book of Los Angeles. In 1979, he released his third solo album. “Happy People” became a brilliant mixture of Brazilian rhythms, Fusion and Jazz-Funk. Hardly any albums in this genre, except those delivered by Earth, Wind & Fire, have ever contained this much energy and genius. Paulinho Da Costa had help from Chicago’s Bill Champlin and, what a coincidence, EWF’s Philip Bailey. He sang “Deja Vu”. The tune is a bomb.

TOM BROWNE “Browne Sugar”: One of the greatest albums recorded in 1979 offers Jazz-Funk of a different kind. The most stunning pieces included were composed by the master himself, trumpet hero Tom Browne, and arranged by the legendary pianist, composer and producer Dave Grusin. Hardly anyone else combines romantic sounds with the fascination of Funk like Tom Browne he does. But he also has a second love. Apart from releasing some of the most brilliant Contemporary Jazz albums ever, he was a FedEx pilot for many years. This is not a joke. “Promises for Spring”, this sample tune, is too good to be real. Do listen to that bass approach towards the end.

HUBERT LAWS: “Land of Passion”: The flutist always played a very wide range of musical genres, including Straight Ahead Jazz, Contemporary Jazz and Jazz-Funk. He even included Maurice Ravel on his “Family” album. Many of Hubert Laws’ compositions are actual symphonies with a lot of “expensive arrangements” of the kind only he could come up with. His soft flute play is breathtaking, literally. This song, “We’re in Ecstasy”, from the 1979 album “Land of Passion”, includes his sister Debra Laws as the main vocalist. There is stunning beauty in Hubert Law’s music. It can drive grown men to tears.

THE CHOCOLATE JAM CO. “The Spread Of The Future”: Leon Ndugu Chancler, who died in February of 2018, was a genius drummer who worked with everyone in the Jazz family, including Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke and Gerald Wilson. In between, he composed the nicest Soul, Funk and Fusion tunes and recorded albums, some under his name and others with his group The Chocolate Jam Co.. Unfortunately there are two Chocolate albums only. Both of them deliver an unmistakable blend of wonderful Soul tunes and sophisticated Jazz-Funk. “Just As You Are” is one of the most wonderful Soul ballads of all time. Period.

GEORGE BENSON “Living Inside Your Love”: One of the most versatile Jazz and Funk guitarists of all time, George Benson, was in his element in 1979, when this brilliant album was released. The genius himself, producer Tommy LiPuma, George’s fellow guitarist Earl Klugh and many other great artists were involved in this release. George Benson plays like a modern incarnation of Wes Montgomery and sings like a God. This double album offers a wide range of excellent compositions and arrangements. George Benson nailed it in all ways possible.

Note: We are not responsible for the content of external websites we provide links to. On November 9th, 2019, all Youtube links included here were available in Germany.

]]>1712Milcho Leviev: Bulgarian Master Composer Dieshttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/10/13/milcho-leviev-the-genius-pianist-and-composer-who-fled-communism-1/
Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:25:20 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=5139Milcho Leviev is a master musician famous for his work in both classical music and Jazz. The 82-year-old Bulgarian has worked with many American Jazz legends and ran bands of his own. Similar to his Cuban colleague Arturo Sandoval, he escaped when the communists put him under pressure. ]]>

Milcho Leviev, a Bulgarian master musician famous for his work in both classical music and Jazz, died on Saturday. He was 82.

In 1982, four bearded men hit a stage in Los Angeles. They were not just any men. And the stage was not just any stage. It was located at the Tonight Show’s studio. The gifted musicians show host Johnny Carson had invited were Ralph Humphrey, a brilliant drummer, bass hero Jimmy Lancefield, and flutist Jim Walker.

Halfway Around the World

Another gentleman was sitting behind the Fender Rhodes keyboard. He was the leader of this band called Free Flight, and he had a name some Americans could hardly pronounce: Milcho Leviev. He and his fellow band members delivered Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk” to the millions of television viewers that night. And they did not just play the tune, but they made it stick. They nailed it. Their performance was of the highest musical quality imaginable.

The late Johnny Carson was stunned. He even did something he had never done before, with any band, during the 20 years he had hosted his show by then: Carson asked Free Flight to be back on his show the next evening.

Free Flight’s first appearance on Carson’s show.

But this story started 45 years earlier, halfway around the world. To be precise: Milcho Leviev was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, on December 19, 1937, to a Jewish father and an Orthodox Christian mother. It was two years before WWII started, six years before the Bulgarian Jews would be saved, and seven years before Bulgaria would be “liberated” by the Soviets.

Graduation in Sofia

In the Bulgaria of 1960, the communist regime was controlling all aspects of life for the citizens. It told them where (not) to travel, what to think and say, and to spy on their families and neighbours. Whoever was branded enemy of the state, for whatever reason, by the notorious state security service, would disappear and be brought into labour camps.

That year, in the middle of the Cold War, Milcho Leviev graduated from Sofia’s excellent State Academy of Music, where he had been majoring in Composition and Piano under the Professors Pancho Vladigerov and Andrey Stoyanov. Leviev, now 23 years old, was about to start a stunning career.

Milcho Leviev: “I had to get the hell out of there.” Photo by Imanuel Marcus

Not only did the young and gifted composer and pianist, who was almost drowned in prizes, become conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, but also conductor and guest soloist of both the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra. Back then music equalled Milcho Leviev. And Milcho Leviev equalled music. That still applies today, decades later.

A Fateful Year

In 1965, Leviev founded Focus 65, a Jazz quartet he would take to the newly founded Montreux Jazz Festival soon, where it won the Critic’s Prize. From that moment onward, Focus 65 would be touring Europe as if there was no tomorrow.

The year 1970 was a fateful one for Milcho Leviev. Communist Bulgaria had given the musical genius an excellent education, but also a headache. During those years, the regime had told him how to name his compositions, and which music genres he should (not) play. Well, they came to the wrong person.

“I was banned from the Union of Bulgarian Composers, for hooliganism. And I resigned from the National Radio Big Band because they could not stand Bossa Nova and told me what to play. The communists said: “What is this? You can not resign.” So, I asked them: “Where in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria does it say so? So, a citizen of this republic can not resign?” They said I had a “very big mouth” and told me to “watch out”.

Train to Freedom

He was also “invited” to join the Communist Party. When he refused, he was warned. They came up to him three times. After the third time, he had to go. “I knew I had to get the hell out of Bulgaria”, Leviev says. Because he had a child, the decision to defect was not easy for him at all.

He took all risks and defected. On that train which left Sofia one evening in 1970, he could have been caught and then punished, as an enemy of the state. But he made it to Germany, then to America.

Milcho Leviev spent his last years in Thessaloniki. Photo by Imanuel Marcus

For almost forty years, from 1970 to 2010, Milcho Leviev lived in Los Angeles. At first, he was given food stamps, while he started playing with fellow Jazz greats, such as Don Ellis. “Don gave me a loan, since I needed a car. So, I bought an old Ford Falcon for 400 Dollars”, Milcho Leviev said. “It took a year, and I was in the studio. After three years, I bought a house in North Hollywood, with a swimming pool and everything.”

Teaming Up with Billy Cobham

Not only did he perform and record with absolutely everyone in the Jazz world, including Billy Cobham, Art Pepper, Dave Holland, Al Jarreau and Airto Moreira. He also became Musical Director for Lainie Kazan and founded Free Flight, that formation which did not only stun Johnny Carson and his viewers, when four bearded men nailed it on stage, but also hundreds of thousands of fans, who purchased their records.

In 2010, at the age of 72, Milcho Leviev thought it was time to move back to his home continent. “After almost 40 years, I could not stay in America anymore. I was there from 1970 to 2010 and I saw the country go down. I knew it was not good in Bulgaria either, which is why I would not live there anymore.”

Leviev, gigging with Billy Cobham in 1974.

But the genius composer, who lived in Greece until he passed away, came to his native Bulgaria on a regular basis, in order to do his Summer School at New Bulgarian University, and for performances. In 2017, he came more often, since his 80th birthday was celebrated several times.

When he was still well, Milcho Leviev looked more like 60 than like 80. “That’s the problem with me. I thought when I get old, I would cool off and be very careful. How much time is left? Will I live two more years or 10 years? Time is short. My wife, Vicky, she is my savior.”

Milcho Leviev died on Saturday, at age 82.

]]>5139Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick: The ‘Massive Buzz’ Kicks In on Stagehttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/09/22/jean-paul-bluey-maunick-the-massive-buzz-kicks-in-on-stage-1/
Sun, 22 Sep 2019 03:47:54 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=8184Forty years ago, a big idea was implemented, when Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick founded Incognito. Since, the band has delivered truckloads of the most brilliant Soul and Jazz-Funk sounds. The good news is that 'Yesterday's Dream' has become 'Tomorrow's New Dream'.]]>

Forty years ago, a big idea was implemented, when Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick founded Incognito. Since, the band has delivered truckloads of the most brilliant Soul and Jazz-Funk sounds. The good news is that ‘Yesterday’s Dream’ has become ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’.

In 2005, an old tour bus with 16 bunks and British number plates cruised down the German Autobahn at night. The vehicle was unmarked. It should have had a livery saying ‘Life, Stranger than Fiction’ because that is what it became when the bus broke down. The tour manager was sort of unconscious, the highway police wanted to know what was going on, and the next gig was 16 hours (and 300 kilometers) away.

All About the Sun

The author of these lines was on the bus, as one of Incognito’s bookers. Back then, the band was close to its 25th anniversary and introduced the album ‘Eleven’ during a European tour. It was a very soulful piece of work. Like the other 17 studio albums Incognito has recorded, it had its own concept and ‘feel’. By the way: The band did make it to the next ‘Eleven Tour’ gig in Darmstadt after the bus was repaired quickly.

‘Yesterday’s Dream’ was a bonus track on the Japanese version of their album ‘No Time Like the Future’. ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’ is the new album they will release in November of 2019. In between, there were hundreds of killer tunes. Many of those had the Sun in their titles. ‘Morning Sun’, ‘When the Sun Comes Down’, ‘I See the Sun’, ‘Sunburn’, ‘Solar Fire’ and ‘She Rises in the East’. In ‘Jeopardy’, the answer to the latter would be “What is the Sun?”.

The Sun also seems to be part of the spiritual concept of Incognito’s founder and bandleader Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick, a Londoner born in Mauritius who had this intuition while attending an Earth, Wind & Fire gig in 1975 in a ‘Santana’ t-shirt. The idea was to put together a Jazz-Funk and Soul group which would spread uplifting quality music all over the place. Forty years ago, in 1979, he implemented the plan.

The Trademark Blend of Sounds

Incognito literally explodes when the 11- to 13-piece group hits the stage. And they do so all the time. South Korea, Japan, Chile, the United States, their British home turf: These guys go everywhere to deliver the Soul, the Funk and the Jazz. Not just once they met themselves at Heathrow Airport. And they have played with everyone in the ‘Real Music’ world, including George Benson and Chaka Khan.

This unique band appeals to Jazz-Funk and rare groove people with its horn arrangements and sophisticated Seventies Funk sounds, but also to clubbers, because of their dance tunes some of which got several remixes and re-remixes. But it is all made of Incognito’s trademark blend of sounds and Jean-Paul Maunick’s never-ending ideas.

While the new album is waiting to be released, the next tours in America and within Europe are only a few weeks away. In the meantime, Imanuel Marcus caught up with Jean-Paul Maunick, 18 years after the first interview he did with him at the ‘9:30’ club in Washington D.C..

Incognito has had hundreds of members. Some stay for two years, others for decades. Photo: Incognito

The Berlin Spectator: Forty years ago, you implemented an idea which you had developed while attending an Earth, Wind & Fire concert in 1975. It turned out to become your life project. Did you think it would be, at that moment?

Jean-Paul Maunick: Though confident that music would be the mainstay of my life, in those days I was living in hope that I could get my own band together that could inspire someone out there in the way that Earth, Wind & Fire had done to me. I did not sit and wait for things to happen. I was always involved in projects, bands and jam sessions. I instigated things in lieu of serendipitous moments.

The Berlin Spectator: We seem to be wearing grey beards today. What about your audiences? Do they look like the two of us?

Jean-Paul Maunick: With the passing of time come changes to all things organic. We change, the music changes and the audiences with us. But the music outlasts us all for it is like a photograph that does not biodegrade. Because of that we have an audience that has grown old with us. But our music old and new has brought us new generations of music lovers. In Korea, if you look at our audience, you could be mistaken in believing that we were a Pop band. The average age is 18.

The Berlin Spectator: Not counting live and remix albums, the new one, entitled ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’, is the 18th one. If I had fallen into a coma after ‘Tribes, Vibes & Scribes’ and woken up today, would I have recognized Incognito on the new album?

Jean-Paul Maunick: There is always going to be some aspect of our music that reflects our love of Jazz Funk and Soul. But I believe that all our records sound different. Not only because of the changes in personnel but the songwriting, production values, location, tools and financial limitations, and how changing times is reflected on our creativity.

The Berlin Spectator: I heard the album will include a million collaborators, including Phil Perry whom I remember from tours with Lee Ritenour in the 1990s. What kind of experience was that cooperation?

Jean-Paul Maunick: ‘For The Love Of You’ features two of the most amazing singers in soul music history, Phil Perry and Maysa. As a keen fan, I have been telling the world about The Montclairs ever since I heard them back in 1975. I was three years late in discovering their 1972 album ‘Dreaming Out of Season’, but to this day I feel that Phil’s vocal performance on ‘Prelude to a Heartbreak’ is one of the best I have ever heard.

Combining the uniqueness of Maysa’s rich soulful tones with Phil’s raw, powerful and limitless vocal range is the stuff of dreams. Between the two of them, they have graced us with their solo albums and collaborations with Lee Ritenour, Michel Colombier, Stevie Wonder, Don and Dave Grusin, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Najee, Bill Withers, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Sergio Mendes, Bobby Womack, Chaka Khan, Fourplay, George Benson, and Will Downing and many more. We are talking musical royalty here!

The new Incognito album ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’ will be out on November 6th, 2019.

I started this song using ‘Garage Band’ on my laptop in a taxi on my way to Maysa’s house for one of her wonderful dinner evenings for the band. I played her the rough and she liked it. So I got with Matt [Cooper] and Francis [Hylton] to flesh it out. Co-writing lyrics and melodies with Phil was a treat and an eye opener to his genius. He is a legendary singer/songwriter in a class all his own.

I was on the road and we co-wrote using Face Time on the computer. Phil is one animated Dude! The crowing glory came when I got to go to Maryland to record Maysa and then Phil at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. Here I was, with my hero in the studio where George Benson recorded ‘Breezin’’ and ‘In Flight’, Miles Davis recorded ‘Tutu’ and Frank Sinatra recorded ‘Come Fly With Me’ when I was one year old. It will be a memory that will be with me forever.

The Berlin Spectator: Talk to me about instrumentals. What can we expect on this end?

Jean-Paul Maunick: There are two instrumentals. The first is ‘Saturday Sirens’. It depicts the sound of urban living in London where crime is on the rise, and Saturday night is the height of madness. The police sirens have now become the soundtrack of all our Saturdays. This track features the genius of Portuguese guitarist Francisco Sales and guest flutist Gareth Lockrane. The ever-present Incognito Horns are on hand to stamp the band’s trademark on it all.

The second one, ‘Say What’s On Your Mind’, is the closing number on the album. It was written by Matthew Cooper, Francis Hylton, Francesco Mendolia, Francisco Sales, Fayyaz Virji and myself.

The Berlin Spectator: In the past 40 years, you have recorded spectacular cover tunes too, including ‘Nights Over Egypt’, ‘Silver Shadow’, ‘That’s the Way of the World’, ‘Lowdown’, ‘Expresso Madueira’, ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, ‘Tin Man’ and ‘Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing’. Which cover will ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’ feature?

Jean-Paul Maunick: There are no covers on this album. We had too many original songs. If fact there are about 8 to 10 songs that did not make the album. I wanted the 40th anniversary album to feature our own creativity from top to bottom.

The Berlin Spectator: Looking back at the first 17 studio albums, if you had to choose one for a bunch of funky Martians who never had the opportunity to listen to music made on Earth before, which one would it be and why?

Jean-Paul Maunick: That would be the first one, ‘Jazz Funk’. It’s got a very organic sound and a vulnerability that is very human. The other album that reflects our humanity well is ‘No Time Like The Future’.

The Berlin Spectator: You guys still tour like crazy and you still play your asses off. Incognito is a live band. But since you are not 25 anymore: How does all the traveling affect you, and all of this “remain seated until the captain has switched off the ‘fasten your seat belt signs” bullshit?

Jean-Paul Maunick: I am a road animal. I was built for this. Nothing comes close to being on the road. Flying is the hardest part as airports are the most soulless places on planet Earth. The actual flights, carbon footprints aside, are easy. I get time to sleep, write and read.

I live for those moments on stage. I love live music and its power to uplift the spirit and unite people in the most positive way. Playing with these amazing musicians and singers gives me a massive buzz every time!

The Berlin Spectator: Back then, our music was on albums like ‘Borboletta’, ‘Catch Bull at Four’, but also ‘I Am’, ‘Ask Rufus’ or ‘Enigmatic Ocean’. Then you delivered our ‘Real Music’ for generations. How did you manage to keep ‘Real Music’ alive?

Jean-Paul Maunick: Easy. It was live music that first touched my soul. Its power has intensified with every passing year of my life. The joy of communication with an audience is beyond explanation. Music is my chosen language and ‘live’ allows me to have conversations with people from all walks of life, worldwide. My songs and my band bring joy to people. In some cases it helps them to mend body mind and soul. This is my calling and I love my job.

Incognito will be performing in Charlotte, Atlanta, the Washington D.C. area (twice, it’s Alexandria and Annapolis), Chicago, Detroit, New Haven, New York City and Glenside in October. In November, it will be Cabo San Lucas, Zaragoza, Dresden, Leverkusen, Prague, Brno, Zurich, Paris, Hamburg, Hengelo, The Hague and Berlin. On December 4th, 2019, the 40th anniversary gig will take place in London. Incognito’s touring plan can be checked out on their Facebook page.

]]>8184The Animal: Eric Burdon to Raise Roofs in Germany and Switzerlandhttps://berlinspectator.com/2019/05/03/the-animal-eric-burdon-to-raise-roofs-in-germany-1/
Fri, 03 May 2019 14:47:01 +0000https://berlinspectator.com/?p=3083Why was he the egg man? Because of some slippery story of Burdon, his Jamaican girlfriend and an egg in his bellybutton. Oh, yes those times were wild. Everyone was. And some still are. Especially those who are still alive.]]>

Note: The German tour dates were cancelled by the promoter.

He was part of a group of friends who were “like a motorcycle gang, without the motorcycles” in the mid-1960s. He definitely liked women and he usually did not reject a drink or two either. And he had many good friends, including Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon.

When Jimi was dead, all of a sudden, at the age of 27, his girlfriend called Eric Burdon first. During that time, the Beatles released a lot, including their song ‘I Am the Walrus’, and included Eric Burdon in the lyrics.

“I am the egg man. They are the egg men.” Why was he the egg man? Because of some slippery story of Burdon, his Jamaican girlfriend and an egg in his bellybutton. Oh, yes those times were wild. Everyone was. And some still are. Especially those who are still alive.

When Eric Burdon stood on the stage with The Animals, he delivered. In the 1960s, he was already one of the most soulful white vocalists, along with David Clayton-Thomas, and of course Janis Joplin. He could hit the stage sober or drunk, but he would always convince.

The voice. The presence. Awesome. With The Animals and later with War, he felt what he was singing. And he brought it a across. He nailed it. At age 23, Eric Burdon was already a master. A true performer. An original.

The Animals did it all. ‘You Don’t Know What it’s Like’, written by Barry and Robin Gibb, yes The Bee Gees, sounded so much cooler when Burdon sang it. So did ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and everything else. He and his Animals were the coolest Britons to hit stages. And they still are.

In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, two years before Woodstock. Eric Burdon sang about that experience. ‘Monterey’ is a killer tune with sublime brass arrangements.

The Byrds and the Airplane did flyOh, Ravi Shankar’s music made me cryThe Who exploded into fire and lightHugh Masekela’s music was black as nightThe Grateful Dead blew everybody’s mindJimi Hendrix, baby, believe me,set the world on fire, yeah

Eric Burdon kept on disbanding The Animals, in order to establish them again later. At some point, he fought for the band name in front of courts. Then he gained the right to use that name all over the world.

His tours with War were wild too. And dangerous. In 1971, Burdon collapsed on stage when he suffered an asthma attack. The band continued their tour without him. All in all, the War times did not last that long. “Spill the Wine” was definitely a good one. And, yes, Burdon made it sound even more profound than The Isley Brothers did. ‘San Franciscan Nights’? Oh yes.

Eric Burdon acted in several movies as well, including biographical flicks about The Doors, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and others. He wanted to portray non-musicians, but usually ended up on some stage anyway.

He has delivered music for 55 years. He is a painter. And an author. Burdon co-wrote ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – A Memoir’. A bit more recently, in 2004, he released his autobiography ‘My Secret Life’.

The man himself, the greatest living Rock and Blues frontman of all time, will be 78 when he hits ten stages in Germany and Switzerland this summer and fall. First he will warm up across the Atlantic Ocean, in Arlington, Texas, and Avila Beach, California, in May.

On June 24th, 2019, Eric Burdon and The Animals will be in Lucerne, Switzerland. On the 25th they will invade the Liederhalle, Stuttgart’s best concert hall. Berlin is on the agenda on June 26th. It will be the Tempodrom. Too far? How about Zwickau on June 28th? In Munich, Burdon and the guys will be at the Gasteig on June 30th.

And they will be back in October, raising roofs at venues in Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Rostock, Dresden and Nuremberg.

Tickets for prices from 49.95 to 117.55 Euro (56.55 to 113 Dollars or 42.80 to 100 Pounds) are available here.